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Reviews
The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin (1976)
All great humor is grounded in pain
David Nobbs' brilliant satire of modern life features the incomparable Leonard Rossiter as middle-aged, middle-class, middle-manager Reggie Perrin, who longs for a life that is just out of reach. Despite his best (and most bizarre) efforts to break free from the insipid conformity that he sees all around him, he never quite succeeds. Perrin is surrounded by one of the finest and funniest ensembles in the history of British comedy - you'll find most of your friends, family and enemies represented here. As Reggie's fatuous boss (a character that anticipated the Dilbert comic strip by about 20 years) would put it, "I didn't get where I am today without appreciating one of the finest British sitcoms ever." Outstanding writing and hilarious acting make this one of the greats.
The Andersonville Trial (1970)
Impossible to forget
This is one of those rare presentations that one remembers, not only the content, but also the feelings and thoughts that it evoked, even decades after viewing. This is the very best courtroom drama I have ever seen. The captains of the Enterprise and whatever the name of the sub was on Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (Shatner and Basehart) show what they were capable of doing with first-rate material and direction. Set aside some uninterrupted time to see this one.
Fractured Flickers (1963)
I laughed until I cried
I was eight when this was on TV, and remember laughing uncontrollably at the hilarious sight gags and ridiculous re-writing of movie plot lines. If you like What's Up Tiger Lily, or Allan Sherman, or Weird Al Yankovic, or the Zucker Brothers (Airplane et al.) or other such silliness, you'd love these. Of course, they'll probably never be released. The tapes probably don't even exist anymore. My favorite was a silent short with someone holding a pair of socks with fish inside them, flailing about wildly, with narration of a commercial for Playtex Living Socks. As for the issue of making light of the great silent pictures, I think this show actually had a certain affection for them. The humor wasn't mean, it was just silly.